I know I’m going to make a lot of people angry with this post, but it needs to be said. Intentions don’t matter; the only thing that matters is results. To quote The Fast and The Furious, “It doesn’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile, winning’s winning.” You can have all the intentions in the world, but no one actually cares. They care about the end result. Successful people don’t value good intentions; they value the results. Unsuccessful people attach great importance to their attempts and intentions at getting results, even if nothing happens. You can’t pay your bills with hugs and nice, fluffy intentions. Imagine telling the bank, “I had every intention of paying my mortgage this month, and I made some really good progress and got a little bit closer and put in a lot of effort, but I didn’t get the money.” You’ll be getting a letter in the mail real soon, and if you keep up your ‘intent,’ you’ll be finding a new place to live. Please don’t confuse intent with results, and remember that outcome always trumps output. Effectiveness and success are about progress, not intentions. That’s the real world, and you certainly don’t need a reminder. We live in a world where intent and ideas are great, but they will always play a back seat to results. So, are you patting yourself on the back for what you intend to do? Or are you waiting to celebrate once you’ve reached your goal and have completed it? Let’s be clear, you’re not going to reach all of your goals immediately, and you need to take deliberate, measured, specific, continuous action, but don’t waste your time congratulating yourself for ‘intent’. Congratulate yourself when you make it. “Do or do not. There is no try.” Give it your all and get it done. The right actions should drive and impact results. It doesn’t matter how you get from point A to point B; what matters is that you get where you’re going. Maybe I’m just in my villain era, I don’t know, and I don’t care, but what I know for sure is that results are rewarded, not intent or meaning to or one day or someday, and that’s the way it is. Do you know how many times I’ve been at book shows, and people have come up to me and said, “I’m an author too!” “Great,” I say, “I’ll grab a copy of your book; where can I get it?” Imagine my surprise when they say, “Oh, it’s not done yet, I’ve been working on it for a few years, but I intend to finish it…one day.” Don’t confuse intent with results. I fully intended to be the person who stitched up the hockey players in the NHL. Did that happen? No. I had every intention in the world, but I didn’t take the appropriate actions, and that’s the difference between dreaming and doing. Don’t be just a dreamer, be a dreamer who DOES. A dreamer with a plan of action to get there. Did Michelangelo intend to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, or did he actually do it? You get the point. And if you don’t, you’ve come to the wrong place. Every single person on my team shows results, not intentions. It’s the minimum standard around here. And you should have the same standard for your life. Surround yourself with people who get things done.
The look you get when you tell me you “intend” to.